One would think that life would get easier after retirement. With no obligation to travel daily and deliver at work, no family to look after and no obligation to talk to obnoxious people. Plenty of time to pursue hobbies, to read and exercise. What went wrong? It seems the pressure is still there, but different. Here are some examples:
The Aldi scrum. I hate shopping at Aldis. Firstly, presuming one follows the aisles from the entrance, there seems to be no logic in the way the goods are distributed. I have to buy my fruit and vegetables first, before crushing them in the trolley by heavier groceries. And the frozen items, which are met with later, are well separated from others such as butter, meat, cheese and milk which would benefit from being together at lower temperatures. It’s no use carefully placing similar items in separate bags, because once you reach the checkout aisle they all have to be bundled rapidly onto the belt so as not to delay the shoppers behind who have trolleys piled high, and because the belt itself never stops moving. And then there is the problem of the checkout itself, where items are scanned and registered at a frantic rate and have to be grabbed and stuffed back into the trolley. Too slow removing scanned items at the checkout? Then there is the embarrassment of them being sidelined and slowing down the next bulk buyer. And all this without having to spend some time looking at the bargains in the central aisles to make sure you have not overlooked that piece of equipment which you hadn’t realised you needed despite never having possessed one before.
Phone stress You probably have a mobile phone. I did, before I lost it. What a relief! Before, the expectation was that I carry it with me at all times and answer it immediately it rang. No matter if I was driving, walking, napping, out in the garden, enjoying a quiet coffee, or on the loo. “. “You took an awful long time to answer my call”. “Why did you buy that? You should have rung/texted me to check exactly what I wanted” ” Why didn’t you reply to my text?” My fat fingers do not work at the same rate, or are as accurate typing the tiny keys as a teenager with nail extensions. My neighbour uses her phone to carry out all sorts of activities, including researching and storing information. She has to be constantly checking its presence and panics when it goes missing. I have solved this modern cause of stress. I have not replaced my mobile phone but purchased a home phone with an ability to record messages, which I will read when it suits me.
An old codger's comments 